Red colored CHMSLs for motor vehicles function as a third brake light (in addition to conventional right-hand and left-hand mounted red-colored brake lights) and are typically mounted adjacent the vehicle rear window. Depression of the vehicle brake pedal causes the CHMSL to be illuminated in combination with the two low mounted brake lights to form a triangle pattern with greatly enhanced visibility and ability to immediately attract the attention of the operator of a trailing vehicle.
One problem which has persisted in providing CHMSLs and other lighting devices on motor vehicles is that existing devices generally include a housing in combination with a separately affixed translucent lens. The housing itself is often a relatively complex plastic molding and generally further includes a coating applied to the interior surfaces thereof to function as a reflector. Generally a white incandescent illuminating bulb is located inside the housing which is wired to the vehicle's lighting circuit. The combination of elements is expensive and inefficient. Further, the joining of the housing and lens in the most efficient manner to achieve a water-tight seal which does not leak pursuant to automotive specifications has eluded designers and engineers as evident from the number of issued patents involving such structures.
Furthermore, conventional CHMSLs and brake lights using an incandescent bulb in a housing in combination with a separately affixed translucent lens have a low lighting efficiency, a relatively short lifetime, and generate heat. In order to overcome some of the above problems, light emitting diodes (LEDs) have replaced incandescent bulbs in some CHMSL applications. However, the CHMSLs incorporating LEDs to date have had little or no optical design to meet photometric requirements, as the designers have relied on the directional nature of a LED to meet such requirements. However, in relying on the directional nature of a LED to meet photometric requirements without any optical design, such CHMSLs must use a greater number of LEDs in order to meet photometric requirements than would lee necessary had an optical design been utilized. In this manner, CHMSLs incorporating LEDs to date have also been inefficient.
In light of the deficiencies of the art, what is needed is a visual display device, such as a motor vehicle lighting device and more particularly a CHMSL, which offers a more simplistic structure such that a housing and lens do not have to be separately formed. Furthermore, what is needed is a visual display device wherein the housing and lens do not have to be affixed or otherwise assembled to one another. Furthermore, what is needed is a visual display device which will not leak water between the housing and the lens. Furthermore, what is needed is a visual display device housing which does not require a separately applied reflective coating. Furthermore, what is needed is a visual display device which has a high light collection efficiency.